


Defenders of Home

by TimeToMike



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-09 22:33:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13491177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeToMike/pseuds/TimeToMike
Summary: Keith comes from a broken home, and has spent his entire life acting like it doesn't get to him. During a moment shared with Lance, he lets his guard down, and Lance finally gets a glimpse of what Keith is hiding, deep within.Maybe now, finally, years of trauma can unwind, and Keith can find comfort in Lance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this has been therapeutic, honestly.

“Hey, Keith.” 

“Yeah, Lance?”

“I know we’re supposed to be these big heroes, like,  _ Defenders of the Universe _ and all, but don’t you ever miss home? Even a hot-shot like you has to miss his parents sometimes, right?”

Keiths head shot up. His heart dropped. Almost instantly, his mind had already plowed through the memories he’d tried so hard to push to the back of his mind, only to have them all resurface at once. Images of his parents, sounds of yelling, of fighting, all flashed by. He’d spent so long hiding the memories from himself, he hoped he had moved on, and for a moment, maybe he had. But now they were all back and he was back where he started. Back to square one. All it took was a well-intended question. 

“Keith?” Keith felt sorry for Lance. He knew, he  _ knew _ , Lance was just looking for reassurance. Lance couldn’t have known. In the end, nobody really  _ knew _ . Sure, he’d told Shiro things, but not in a serious way. He didn’t dare take it seriously, because that would make it all  _ real _ . Instead, he’d joked about it, made jokes he knew unsettled everyone in the room. Half of him hoped the others would just let it pass, but the other half always wished someone would react. Say something.  _ Anything _ . If someone else made it real, maybe it wouldn’t scare him as much. 

Maybe that was why he always seemed so distant. Keith was always so occupied with keeping his thoughts, his feelings, his mind at bay, so he never stopped to make friends. He was so focused on telling himself he was fine, he didn’t need a family, he just needs to do his best, but every time he saw Pidge and their brother, or Lances pictures of his family, or Hunks family recipes, it stung. He felt so alien among people he knew best. 

So, yeah. Lance couldn’t have known. But when Keith, after a lengthy silence, broke down into sobs and garbled apologies, Lance knew, and it was like he’d always known.  Keith didn’t have to tell him how he’d laid in bed late at night, asking himself why his parents didn’t love him, or how he’d learned at age 14 how the world was a cold, hard, place, and how all he really wished for was someone to hold him while the world shakes and reassure him that he’ll be okay. He didn’t have to tell Lance he was fine on his own, that he’d get up the next morning as if this exchange never happened, Lance wouldn’t believe it. When Keith stood there, sobbing into Lances shoulder, they both knew they could never go back to what they had been before. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "[...] for the first time, Lance felt like he had gotten a glimpse of what Keith was really like. Now that he had gotten a taste, he needed to find out more."

The following few days felt tense, to say the least. Lance didn’t know whether or not he was supposed or even _allowed_ to talk about what had happened with the others. He wanted to ask Hunk for help, but he felt like that would be betraying Keiths trust, and while Lance would always scoff about Keith being his rival, deep down, he cared about him. Lance cared about Keith, more than he’d like to admit to. Seeing Keith break down like that, seeing his outer shell shatter, if only for a moment, set something into motion inside of Lance. It made him question Keith more, question what he was really thinking, deep down. It made him realize Keith was never the rival Lance had made him out to be - Keith was just _Keith_. He was sad, a lot, but he was a lot more than that. He had always been so distant, but for the first time, Lance felt like he had gotten a glimpse of what Keith was really like. Now that he had gotten a taste, he needed to find out more.

“Earth to Lance, earth to Lance!” Lance was rudely awakened from his thoughts by Hunk, waving a hand in his face. “You’ve been spacing out all day.” Hunk had his usual warm smile on, the kind that really made Lance appreciate having him for a best friend. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know, Hunk. Just… Not fully here today, I guess.” Lance had no intentions to betray Keith’s trust, but it did feel good to open up to Hunk, if even just a little.

“Want to talk about it?” Lance hesitated. How much could he get away with saying?

“It’s Keith-” Lance was interrupted by the doors to the common room opening. Keith appeared in the doorway, looking surprised to find anybody in the room. Terrified to have heard Lance speak to Hunk about him.

“Were you just talking about me?” Keith came off as more accusatory than he meant to, but he did hear his name be mentioned. His heart was racing. Was Lance really going to tell Hunk about Keith? Hunk _is_ Lances best friend, so it wouldn’t surprise Keith, but damn, did it sting. Maybe that was a sign. Maybe opening up had been the worst mistake he'd made so far. 

“Were you spying on me?” Lance retorted, shooting up from the couch he was lounging on. He seemed far too defensive to make a believable case for himself. “Are you _spying_ on me?”

“This is our _common room_ , I’m allowed to be here, _Lance!_ ” Keith sounded… strange. There was something new, something sinister, mixed in with the usual frustration. It was dark, and heavy, and overwhelming-- and too much, all at once. “If it bothers you, I’ll leave. See you, _Hunk_.” Keith made sure to shoot a final glare at Lance, before walking through the doors to the common room. Just like that, he was gone. Lance stood there, breathing heavily, staring at the door Keith had come and gone through, until he finally gave up and sat back down next to Hunk.

“What the _fuck_ was that?” Hunk turned to Lance, trying to process what had just happened.

“I don’t know!” Lance let out a long whine. “I don’t know, I _wish_ I knew, but I _don’t_ . Everything is so- so _weird_ between us ever since…” Lance trailed off, unsure if he was on the verge of tears or about to go chase Keith down.

“Ever since what?” Hunk raised an eyebrow.

“... Nothing. I’m just an idiot.” Lance mumbled, and laid down further into the couch, and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t tell if he was about to start crying, or if he just needed to lie down for a bit. “I want to show Keith that I’m there for him, and then I go and say _that_.”

“Yeah… could’ve gone better.” Hunk sighed. “Atleast you didn’t stab him thrice in the leg or put food goo in his bed.”

Lance let out a weary chuckle. “C’mon, Hunk, that’s not funny.”

“You laughed, though.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Isn’t that what friends are for?”

"I guess so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next time for angst and some more of Keith's thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The castle felt so big, so empty, and so, so lonely. Keith, on the other hand, felt smaller than ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the super short chapters! i have the attention span of a goldfish so i guess i'm just used to shorter chunks of text? Let me know if I should start publishing two chapters at once?
> 
> also this is the last chapter i had stocked up, so from now on i'll be posting as i write,, wish me luck <3

Once the door had closed, Keith let out a shaky breath. He felt as if his heart was being twisted and pulled from all directions, stabbed with daggers, crushed under immense weight. He was ready to hurl, just thinking about what just went down. Lance knows something about him, Lance knows a _lot_ more about him than Keith thought he ever would. Information that could be used against him at any point in time. Lance could be spreading it to everybody right this moment, first to Hunk, then Pidge, Shiro, Allura, Coran… Keith felt his hands start to shake. Crying in front of Lance, completely breaking down in front of Lance of all people, had to be the dumbest thing he’s ever done.

A tear rolled down Keiths cheek. Up until now, Keith had been unaware of the tears. He went to wipe them, but stopped to see his reflection in the castle window. Everywhere he looked, he saw thousands, millions, of stars, planets, entire solar systems, all counting on Voltron to save them. And in the middle of all of this was Keith. Small, helpless, pathetic. Stripped of any pride he had, with eyes red from crying, and shaking hands. The castle felt so big, so empty, and so, so lonely. Keith, on the other hand, felt smaller than ever.

Moving away from his reflection, Keith started walking through the less used halls of the castle. His steps echoed throughout the hallways, and a few times, he had to stop to make sure there was noone there with him. There was something comforting about the absolute solitude of these parts of the castle.

Going back to his room was out of the question. He felt lonely enough already, and going back to a dark, small room to sit in silence would only make the matter worse. Besides, all the rooms of the paladins were lined up right next to each other, and of _course_ his was next to Lance. He wasn’t ready to risk facing Lance after storming off like that, but where else could he go? Going back to the common room would be even worse. His own room is a no-go. He didn’t want to disturb anyone else, so going to Shiro or Coran wouldn’t work, either. So, as Keith figured he had no place to go, he kept on wandering the less used hallways of the castle. It was lonely, sure, but he liked it that way. The steps echoing throughout the halls, the silent mechanical whirring of the castle, and the vast amounts of space Keith could see through the window were more than enough company for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i just want them to be happy please

Hours passed, and Keith was nowhere to be seen. Lance almost started worrying he had just vanished, left Voltron, never to be seen again. Maybe Keith was floating somewhere in outer space...

Lance was sitting on the floor, back against the wall between the doors to Keiths and his rooms. He figured he had to apologize for what happened back in the common room- he hated hearing that twinge in Keiths voice. Earlier, he hadn’t been able to pinpoint what it was, but now he remembered. It was the same twinge his niece would have in her voice before crying. He hated it. It stung, somewhere deep in his chest.

Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro had all gone to bed already, although it was safe to assume Pidge was probably tinkering on some tech in their room. Maybe that was for the best, considering that Lance really wanted to talk to Keith in private.

“... Lance?” Lances head shot up. He had been so deep in thought (and honestly, more than just a little tired), he hadn’t heard Keiths approaching steps.

“Keith!” Lance was a bit too loud, considering the others were sleeping right next door. “Keith, _finally_ you show up!”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Keith was genuinely worried, Lance could tell.

“Okay, so, truth is…” Lance was happy to see Keith wasn’t completely shutting him out- he was actually looking out for him. “I’ve been waiting for you. I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I pulled a dick move, started accusing you like that. I’m sorry.” Lance kept his eyes on Keith while speaking, and felt a little tug on his heart when Keith broke eye contact, his eyes focusing on a certain spot on the floor.

“No, Lance, it’s fine.” Keith mumbled, only half believing his own words. “It’s whatever. I’m sorry, too.” He hadn’t expected seeing Lance, not now. He was going to plan out an entire apology, but now he had to improvise. “I was just scared, I guess.”

“Scared?” Lance felt that tug on his heart grow, and he was sure he must’ve looked at Keith the way he’d look at his niece. “Scared of what? Of me?”

“No!” Keith quickly regained eye contact. “No, not of you, just scared to hear you talk about me. Who knows?” Keith shifted the weight on his feet. “Who, except you, Hunk, and I, know about my family?”

“Wha-” It took a moment for Lance to piece together what Keith really meant. “Hunk _doesn’t_ know. I wasn’t going to spread that around, Keith. I know you wouldn’t want that.”

“Then what did I hear back at the common room?” Keith wasn’t accusing Lance of anything anymore, just confused, curious, and _tired_.

Lance was getting tired, too. It must’ve been around 3 AM by now, and the sleep deprivation was really getting to him. His mind felt a little hazy, and he was more than ready to get knocked out at any moment.

“I was going to tell Hunk I was thinking about you. Worried.” Something about the way Lance spoke, really caught Keiths attention. It was honest, unfiltered, and genuine. “I want to help you, Keith. I know we’re rivals, but maybe we could put all that on hold for a bit?” He yawned, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. “You’re obviously dealing with some heavy shit, I get it, but you shouldn’t have to go through it alone. That’s just unfair.”

“Lance, I-” Keith paused. He was going to object, like he always does, and tell Lance he’s fine, that there’s really no need to worry, but something about the way Lance was looking at him made him hesitate. “... Thank you, really.”

Keith smiled, and Lance felt that tug on his heart completely vanish. Lance had seen Keith smile before, of course, but this was unlike any smile he'd seen before. It was such a genuine, warm, smile, Lance wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Knowing Keith accepts the thought of having someone by his side through everything, letting someone in, and that someone being _Lance_? It felt unreal. He was proud, but not in the way he’d be proud of a good grade at the garrison, or a stunt in the lions. He was proud, and kept that pride close to his heart. It was enough for him, nobody else needed to know. 

“Sorry for keeping you up so long. I guess we could both use some sleep, so, I’ll see you around, right?” The conversation had been nice, but it drained Keith of energy.

“Right. Good night, Keith.” Lance was struggling to keep his eyes open, but still had a smile on his face.

“Good night, Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lance is in so deep and he doesn't even know it yet

**Author's Note:**

> Probably going to be updating pretty sporadically with sorta short chapters, just trying to get the hang of this I guess, ahah
> 
> I've never posted anything I've written online before, so please be kind. <3
> 
> where to find me (& my art! hoping to include that in fics eventually):  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/timetomike_art)  
> [youtube](https://youtube.com/c/timetomike)  
> [insta](https://instagram.com/timetomike)  
> [tumblr](https://timetomike.tumblr.com)


End file.
